Robotic Nurses to Cancer Detection: How AI is Transforming Healthcare

Almost every industry that exists today and even emerging industries are implementing artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve efficiency. Along with improving efficiency, AI has several other capabilities that remain unexplored. Some of the industries that have already applied AI and ML into their functioning are the IT industry, automotive industry, and agriculture industry to name a few.

Therefore, the healthcare industry too, which until recently was banking heavily on manpower is leveraging AI into its system gradually. Scientists, researchers and doctors are working as a team to come up with new and sophisticated AI technologies to improve efficiency and accuracy in the healthcare system. Some of the ways in which AI is being used in the Healthcare Industry is as follows.

Tumours Identified using AI

Recently, scientists have developed an AI system that can detect even tiny specks of lung cancer in CT scans that are invisible to even to humans. The AI system, which is accurate by 95% apparently, was built using an algorithm similar to that of the one used by facial-recognition software.  The research group working on the system fed over 1,000 CT scans into the software to help the computer learn to look for the tumours, says a report on Gadgets Now.

Robotic Nurses

Humanoid robots are already being used in Japan in elderly homes across the country. Japanese robotics engineers at Riken and Sumitomo Riko Labs have created a robotic bear capable of helping care for elderly patients. This bear is even capable of lifting and moving elderly patients from one point to the other. The robots name Paro, pepper and dinsow can do a range of activities like conversing with the elderly, facing medical appointments and even help in ambulation of the elderly patients. More information on the robotic nurses is available here.

Minimally Invasive Surgery

Minimally invasive surgery options like the da Vinci Surgery, using advanced technologies like magnified 3D high-definition vision system and tiny wristed instruments, can be maneuvered even with greater accuracy than a human hand.  The surgeon is fully in control of the system, which can be applied to cardiac surgery, gynecologic surgery, general surgery, and urologic surgery to name a few.

Real-time Monitoring of Vital Stats

The biofourmis platform enables clinicians, researchers and pharmaceuticals to efficiently gauge the condition of a patient using wearable bio-sensors and cloud-based platform with personalized health analytics engine. The platform constantly monitors physiology data of a patient using bio-sensors to provide accurate health predictions. The platform also boosts of a dynamically varying personalized baseline which is capable of alerting deterioration in patients’ health and also improvement or any subtle changes due to medication.

Identification of Breast Cancer

An Indian startup based out of Bengaluru by the name Niramai is developing a software to detect breast cancer at early stages. Unlike traditional methods like mammography and other invasive technology which is painful for women, Niramai uses patented thermal image processing and machine learning algorithms for reliable and accurate breast cancer screening.